Shells for holding soft drink bottles

ABSTRACT

Shells for soft drink bottles are provided with anti-slip members which reduce the shifting of the shells relative to each other when stacked. The anti-slip members are spaced from the bottom sliding surfaces of the shells so that the anti-slip members do not interfere with the sliding function of individual shells on their bottoms.

United States Patent [191 Mejan, Jr.

[ SHELLS FOR HOLDING SOFT DRINK BOTTLES [76] Inventor: Henry Mejan, Jr.,8949 Idlewild,

Highland, Ind. 46322 [22] Filed: Feb. 7, 1972 {21] Appl. No.: 223,968

[52] U.S. Cl. 220/69, 206/65 R, 220/97 R [51] Int. Cl 865d. 85/62, B656.1/24, B65d 1/36 [58] Field 01 Search 220/21, 69, 85 K, 220/97 R, 97 B;217/1920, 21.22, 52;

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS,

Lowe 220/85 K 5] Nov. 13, 1973 Cook 220/69 FOREIGN PATENTS ORAPPLICATIONS 401,407 3/1909 France 220/85 K Primary Examiner-George E.Lowrance Attorney-James P. Hume et al.

[57] ABSTRACT Shells for soft drink bottles are provided with anti-slipmembers which reduce the shifting of the shells relative to each otherwhen stacked. The anti-slip members are spaced from the bottom slidingsurfaces of the shells so that the anti-slip members do not interferewith the sliding function of individual shells on their bottoms.

9 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures 1 SHELLS FOR HOLDING SOFT DRINK BOTTLESFIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to containers for bottles,and more particularly, to improvements in shells for holding soft drinkbottles.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Soft drink bottles whether empty or filledare ordinarily transported in shells formed of wood, each of the shellscontaining 24 bottles. Shells containing the soft drink bottles arestacked four or five high on a pallet or skid which is moved by lifttruck.

Route trucks distribute and pick up soft drink bottles in such shellsstacked on pallets. The starting and stopping movements of the trucktends to shift the load and to cause the shells to be displaced. Whenthe truck returns to the plant, the load must be removed, and in manycases, it is found that the load has shifted toward the front of thetruck; and upon removal of the truck wall, the load collapses. Theresult is costly bottle breakage running into extensive annual figures.

Bottle breakage in such incidents is not only costly, but alsotime-consuming. Any system that would reduce such breakage would save agreat deal of total expense in broken bottles and lost man hours.

The shells for soft drink bottles must be suitable for sliding alongtheir bottoms. In loading and unloading movements, the shell is oftenpushed along on its bottom surface. The desirable characteristic ofbeing slidable on its bottom surface is the same characteristic thatcontributes to displacement of the load during transportation and whichresults in the high expense of bottle breakage.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention toprovide a novel soft drink shell that reduces breakage associated withstacking.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a shell thatreduces the possibility of the load shifting of shells in stackedcondition.

It is another object of the invention to provide a soft drink shell thatis inexpensive to construct.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a soft drink shellhaving anti-slip areas on the bottom for effectively preventing shiftingof the load when the shells are stacked upon each other.

Another object of the invention is to provide a soft drink shell whichcan be readily slid along its bottom, and yet provides an anti-slipfunction when it is stacked.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparentfrom reviewing the accompanying specification, claims, and drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a fragmentary, top plan viewof a wooden I terial on the bottom surface of the shell when a shell ofthe invention is stacked upon the tops of bottles.

FIG. 5 is a view inside of a route truck illustrating shells stackedfour high on a pallet.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT I or any other suitablematerial. In the drawing, there is illustrated a shell formed of wood.The bottom wall of the shell, a rectangular polygon, is formed by threeboards 14a, 14b, and 140 extending between the end walls 12. Suitablemetal strips 15 on the end walls 12 I are wrapped around the bottom wallin order to provide a rugged construction and the durability of theshell.

In order to reduce shifting of the load, and displacement of the shellsrelative to each other when stacked as described above, a plurality, inthis case two, antislip members 20, 21 extend across the bottom surfaceof the shell adjacent each end portion. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, theanti-slip members 20, 21 are mounted transversely in recesses 30, 31 inthe bottom wall. This permits the shell or container 10 to slide on abottom surface without interference from the antislip material 20, 21.

The anti-slip members are formed of a plastic, deformable material, forexample, rubber. Strips of rubber having a hardness less than about 55,for example about 50, as measured by the Shore A durometer according tothe method described in Neoprene Notebook 55, June 1953, page 358, havebeen found to be satisfactory.

As shown in FIG. 4, when the shells are stacked above each other, thetops of the bottles contact the anti-slip material 20. The anti-slipmaterial ispartially deformed or compressed by the weight of the shellagainst the top of the bottle 50, enhancing the anti-slip function,thereby reducing the shifting motion relative to each other.

The anti-slip members are illustrated as strips extending transverselyacross the bottom of the shell; however, the anti-slip material may beplaced longitudinally along the bottom wall. The anti-slip material, forexample, may be placed in the bottom surfaces of boards 14a and 14c,along the longitudinal extent of each. The anti-slip members 20, 21 arespaced from each other to maximize stability. It may be desirable,however, to form the anti-slip members of a single piece. In any event,the anti-slip members are each of a size sufficient to contact aplurality of the tops of the bottles when the shells are stacked.

The anti-slip material is spaced from the bottom sliding surface oftheshell. In the preferred embodiment this is accomplished by mountingthe anti-slip material in recesses 30, 31. Alternatively, the slidingsurface may be built up by adding runners (not shown) to the bottom wallin order to space the sliding surface from the anti-slip members.

The shells 10 may be stacked upon each other. As shown in FIG. 5, apallet in a route truck rests on floor 60 adjacent truck wall 61. Theshells 10 containing bottles are'stacked 4 or 5 high with the bottomwall of each stacked shell supported by the tops of the bottles in theshell immediately below. Referring to FIG. 4, there is illustrated themanner in which the anti-slip member 20 contacts the top of the bottle50 of the shell immediately below. The bottle 5}) is shown with a cap51, but it will be observed that tlte invention is applicable to bottlesthat are empty as well as filled.

From the foregoing, it is believed that operation of the invention isapparent. Shells for soft drink bottles are provided with the anti-slipmembers 20, 21. The shells may be readily moved by sliding along thebottom surface without interference of the sliding function because ofthe anti-slip members are contained in the recesses 30, 31. When theshells, however, are stacked one above each other, as shown in FIG. 5,the tops of the bottles supporting the shell above engage the antislipmaterial as shown in FIG. 4. During the stopping of the truck, there isa tendency for the load to shift, and for the shells to slide relativeto each other on the tops of the bottles. The anti-slip members of theinvention, however, which engage the tops of the bottles, reduce theslippage of the shells to slide relative to each other thereby reducingthe shifting of the load.

The advantages of the invention are apparent. The shells may beconstructed of any suitable material, wood, plastic and the'like,containing on the bottoms thereof the aforedescribed anti-slip members,but may be moved in the usual fashion by sliding on their bottomsurfaces. On the other hand, when the shells are stacked vertically, theshifting of the load is reduced and bottle breakage is improved byengagement of the anti-slip members with the tops of the bottles asdepicted in FlG. 4.

The above disclosure has bene given by way of illustration, and it isdesired to protect all of the embodiments within the scope of theappended claims.

I claim:

1. A container for bottles, which is adapted to be vertically stackedwith similar containers, the combination comprising,

a polygonal bottom wall for supporting bottles in an upright position onthe interior surface thereof, side wall and end walls on said container,

said side walls and end walls of a height less than the height of thebottles contained therein, and

a plurality of anti-slip members on the outside of said bottom wall,

said anti-slip members each extending over an area at least sufficientto engage the tops of a plurality of tops of bottles in order to reducethe shifting of the containers relative to each other when placed in avertical stack,

said anti-slip members spaced from the bottom sliding surface of thecontainer in order that the container may be slid on its bottom and yetpresents an anti-slip area to the tops of the bottles in stackedcondition.

2. The container of claim 1 in which said anti-slip members arecontained within recesses formed within the exterior surface of saidbottom wall.

3. The container of claim 1 further characterized in that said anti-slipmembers are formed of a plastic, deformable material having a Shoredurometer hardness less than 55.

4. A shell adapted to contain soft drink bottles comprising,

a rectangular bottom wall for supporting soft drink bottles in uprightposition,

side walls and end walls on said container,

said side walls and end walls of a height less than the height of thesoft drink'bottles adapted to be contained therein,

a plurality of anti-slip members on the outside of said bottom wall,said anti-slip members each extending over an area at least sufficientto engage the tops of a plurality of bottles in order to reduce theshifting of the shells relative to each other in a vertical stack,

said anti-slip members spaced from the bottom sliding surface of thecontainer in order that the container may be slid on its bottom and yetpresents an anti-slip area to thetops of the bottles in stackedcondition.

5. The soft drink shell of claim 4 in which one antislip member islocated adjacent one end portion of said bottom wall and anotheranti-slip member is located adjacent the other end portion of saidbottom wall.

6. The shell for soft drink bottles described in claim 4 in which saidanit-slip members are recessed within the bottom wall of the containerin order that the shell may be slid on its bottom wall on a flat surfaceand in order that the shell presents an anti-slip area to the tops ofthe bottles in stacked condition.

7. The shell for soft drink bottles described in claim 4 in which saidrubber anti-slip members are spaced from one another.

8. The shell for soft drink bottles described in claim 4 in which saidanti'slip members are formed of deformable material having a Shoredurometer hardness less than about 55.

9. The shell for soft drink bottles described in claim 7 in which saidanti-slip member are formed of rubber having a Shore durometer hardnessless than about 55.

1. A container for bottles, which is adapted to be vertically stacked with similar containers, the combination comprising, a polygonal bottom wall for supporting bottles in an upright position on the interior surface thereof, side wall and end walls on said container, said side walls and end walls of a height less than the height of the bottles contained therein, and a plurality of anti-slip members on the outside of said bottom wall, said anti-slip members each extending over an area at least sufficient to engage the tops of a plurality of tops of bottles in order to reduce the shifting of the containers relative to each other when placed in a vertical stack, said anti-slip members spaced from the bottom sliding surface of the container in order that the container may be slid on its bottom and yet presents an anti-slip area to the tops of the bottles in stacked condition.
 2. The container of claim 1 in which said anti-slip members are contained within recesses formed within the exterior surface of said bottom wall.
 3. The container of claim 1 further characterized in that said anti-slip members are formed of a plastic, deformable material having a Shore durometer hardness less than
 55. 4. A shell adapted to contain soft drink bottles comprising, a rectangular bottom wall for supporting soft drink bottles in upright position, side walls and end walls on said container, said side walls and end walls of a height less than the height of the soft drink bottles adapted to be contained therein, a plurality of anti-slip members on the outside of said bottom wall, said anti-slip members each extending over an area at least sufficient to engage the tops of a plurality of bottles in order to reduce the shifting of the shells relative to each other in a vertical stack, said anti-slip members spaced from the bottom sliding surface of the container in order that the container may be slid on its bottom and yet presents an anti-slip area to the tops of the bottles in stacked condition.
 5. The soft drink shell of claim 4 in which one anti-slip member is located adjacent one end portion of said bottom wall and another anti-slip member is located adjacent the other end portion of said bottom wall.
 6. The shell for soft drink bottles described in claim 4 in which said anit-slip members are recessed within the bottom wall of the container in order that the shell may be slid on its bottom wall on a flat surface and in order that the shell presents an anti-slip area to the tops of the bottles in stacked condition.
 7. The shell for soft drink bottles described in claim 4 in which said rubber anti-slip members are spaced from one another.
 8. The shell for soft drink bottles described in claim 4 in which said anti-slip members are formed of deformable material having a ShoRe durometer hardness less than about
 55. 9. The shell for soft drink bottles described in claim 7 in which said anti-slip member are formed of rubber having a Shore durometer hardness less than about
 55. 